Thursday, July 31, 2014

Preparedness Essentials - Ebola

Recently, I received an email from a reader asking me to blog about Ebola (thanks Don - just what I wanted to write about!). It is a subject that I have stayed away from because, quite frankly, it is a terrifying prospect. And really, there are no good answers. In spite of all of that, we are preppers, and I know that it is always prudent to asses risks and prepare for potential threats - and so, I present Preparedness Essentials - Ebola.

There is one, critical, preparedness essential, that if neglected, renders every other precaution useless and without effect. That essential is a strong, living, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Without preparing your soul for eternity, every other preparation you make is of no consequence. Make no mistake - Jesus is your only salvation. Preparing for Ebola has everything to do with your soul and little to do with your body. Without your soul your body is nothing.

WHAT IS EBOLA
Now, on to the nuts and bolts. Ebola is a virus that causes hemorrhagic fever. It is hallmarked by severe bleeding, organ failure and most often, death. Ebola is native to Africa and lives in host animals such as fruit bats, monkeys, chimps and other primates. Scientists believe that Ebola is transmitted from infected animals to humans via bodily fluids such as blood (during butchering), eating infected animals and coming into contact with animal waste.

HOW EBOLA IS TRANSMITTED
After contracting Ebola, it is further transmitted through direct contact (via broken skin or mucus membranes) with blood, secretions (snot, spittle etc.), organs or other bodily fluids of an infected person. Not only are the bodily fluids infectious, so are any surfaces (clothing, beds, tables, the ground) that have come into contact with infected fluids. Ebola remains infectious on dead bodies, rendering the care of the dead risky behavior. A man who has contracted Ebola and recovered can still transmit the virus through his semen for up to 7 weeks after recovery. There is no evidence that Ebola is transmitted via insect bits.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF EBOLA
Signs and symptoms of Ebola manifest within 5 to 10 days of infection. Early symptoms include fever, severe headache, joint and muscle aches, chills and weakness. Basically, Ebola's early symptoms are those of a really bad flu. As the disease progresses so do the symptoms. These increasingly severe symptoms include nausea and vomiting, diarrhea (may be bloody), red eyes, raised rash, chest pain and cough, stomach pain, severe weight loss, bleeding (usually eyes), bruising and internal bleeding. People near death may bleed from other orifices such as ears, nose and rectum.

As Ebola progresses, it can cause multiple organ failure, severe bleeding, jaundice, delirium, seizures, coma and shock. If a person does recover, the recovery is long and arduous. Survivors may experience hair loss, liver inflammation, weakness, fatigue, headaches, eye inflammation and testicular inflammation. It may takes months to regain strength and weight.

CONTAINMENT
Immediate and complete quarantine is essential if there is suspected exposure to Ebola. If exposure is confirmed (or even suspected) personal protection equipment (PPE) needs to be immediately deployed. PPE includes non-latex gloves (up to 3 pair at a time), surgical mask, eye shield or goggles and a clean, non-sterile long-sleeved gown (or Tyvek suit). Along with PPE, basic hygiene rituals must be maintained, which include stringent hand-washing, respiratory hygiene (putting surgical mask on infected patients as well as potentially infected people), and safe burial practices.

Caring for the dead is another critical aspect of containment. The dead must be immediately buried or cremated. If buried, the body must be encased in at least two body bags and buried in a deep grave (away from any water source). Any personal items such as clothing, pillows, linens - anything that came in contact with the infected person must either be buried with the person or burned. The people tasked with caring for the dead must practice rigorous personal hygiene throughout the burial or cremation process. For their own protection, they must wear 3 sets of gloves, masks, goggle, coveralls and boots.

TREATMENT
There are no drugs currently available for the treatment of Ebola. Supportive care includes pain and fever management (pain relievers and fever reducers, ie. Tylenol, Ibuprofen, etc.), providing fluids (oral rehydration fluid - can be administered with a baby bottle if required), providing oxygen, replacing lost blood (if possible), treating secondary infections. *

Pour cool (not cold) water over patient or put cloths soaked in cool water on chest and forehead. Fan the cloths and change often to keep them cool.

Give plenty of cool (not cold) water to drink.

Administer medicine to bring down fever.

If a person with a fever cannot swallow the tablets, grind them up, mix the powder with some water and put it up the anus as an enema or with a syringe without the needle. **

Treatment for Ebola is limited. Make sure that you know the symptoms and be prepared to treat each individual symptom.

The medical aspect of Ebola is sobering, but there are other things to consider as well. If nobody in your family contracts Ebola, but it has reached the North American continent, you'll want to quarantine your own family. The requirements for such an action are many. Be sure to have adequate food, water and other basic necessities. Make sure that you have alternative sources for cooking, heating and waste disposal (in the event public services are temporarily interrupted). Maintain an adequate emergency medical supply cabinet, complete with personal protection equipment, medicines and more importantly, medical knowledge.

Ebola is a threat, along with so many other things in this world. We don't have to be afraid, just prepared. Prepare to the best of your ability, but put your faith and hope in Christ alone.

* Information gathered from WHO International and the Mayo Clinic.** I am not a doctor! Please see your personal physician for specific treatment options!

Enola, Please go to this site and read what she has to say: http://drrimatruthreports.com/?p=20222 I just got this information yesterday. Many of the "survival" store sites sell silver solutions. Seems like a really good thing to have on the shelf! Have you heard of it's use for this? Blessings, Dixie

We talked about ebola in A&P class last semester. One of the "good" things (if you can call it that), is that it's not a likely biological weapon due to the rapidity of mortality involved. I don't recall how long a person lives with the virus, but I do know that it's a relatively short period as compared to others. This in turn means relatively low transmission, comparatively.

A little realism: Any non-health care specialist without the essential equipment to quarantine and protect yourself will not be able to care for someone with Ebola (or any highly contagious disease) without being exposed to it themselves. If you take on the task of caring for someone with Ebola or smallpox etc you will probably become sick yourself. Secondly this is serious, you aren't going to be able to treat this with colloidal silver, herbs, twigs and witches brew. I can understand anyone, any parent and spouse, choosing to care for a loved one who contracts one of these highly contagious diseases but understand it is probably a death wish situation. Do what you like/must but understand you will become sick too. The protocall and level of protection that health care professionals must follow for these types of diseases cannot be replicated at home.

I am sure we are all thankful for Enola Gay tackling such a tough subject, was it really necessary in your post to be so condescending and patronizing? I really think we could have done without the 'colloidal silver, herbs, twigs and witches brew' comment, don't you?

This is true - talked to a VERY experienced good nurse in the family last night. These people with the known infection should stay out of the country. Too many in the medical field do NOT do due diligence EVERY time. And once is all it takes.....Natokadn

'colloidal silver, herbs, twigs and witches brew' comment' That is the problem and this myth of "natural cures" is so often repeated. Do you really believe that all the scientists are fools and lying to you or that the little old lady down the street who grows herbs knows more then all the doctors? For some this enchantment with herbal "cures" is a harmless hobby because in most caes they are smart enough that when they get sick or family members get sick they go to a doctor. But in fact many people die needlessly because of this superstition based belief in "natural cures". Steve Jobs is a well known example who when he was diagnosed had an operable cancer but by choosing "natural cures" it had time to progress to an inoperable cancer. His billions couldn't save him and the witch doctors and quacks couldn't save him.My comments certainly had no negative intent towards the article. The article is useful for most contagious diseases. My comments were in response to the previous comment claiming a belief that colloidal silver might work where modern science hasn't.

Ah yes 'colloidal silver, herbs, twigs and witches brew'. Yet thats where most our modern treatment originated and even some we don't use now simply because there are more efficients ones. Examples Aspirin, Digoxin, of course there's the small pox vaccine that came from the natural source of cow pow. But hey what do people who use natural medicinals know?!

You are dissimulating. First of all "most" of our modern treatments/medications did NOT come from the sorcery and superstition of pre-scientific people. Some of the old treatments had a nugget of usefuness and where that was true science extracted that information and created a better, purer and very specific product. Your example of aspirin is a good example of that. An aspirin contains 325 mgs of AcetylSalicylic Acid. How much is in your twigs and does it vary by season or even region? Furthermore what diseases does it cure??? The real useful medicines were not discovered by naked savages or Chinese herbologists but have been discovered in laboratoris and almost all of them since the 1930's Science is the answer to our health problems not superstition and witch doctors.

Anyone interested in learning about the Ebola virus should read the book, The Coming Plague by Laurie Garrett. It is a fascinating look into the breakout of Ebola into human victims. As a bonus, it also covers the beginning of the AIDS/HIV plague and the search for victim one. I read this book many years ago and have been keeping a close eye on the possible pandemic situation ever since. Another good book on this subject is The Hot Zone, by Richard Preston. On this subject I recommend that everyone educate themselves. I can think of few more horrifying ways to suffer and ultimately die. Even if you do survive, imagine recovering from losing the lining of your tongue, throat, stomach and intestines. Ugh. The first case of active Ebola in the US, and my family will probably to into voluntary quarantine.

To prevent the spread, there needs to be a strict quarantine of the infected people AND those that are caring for them and who take care of the trash and remains. Historically, when this has happened, the infection "died out." This time, the initial outbreaks occurred and there was NO STRICT QUARANTINE! And now the fools in the employ of the Federal Government have brought it here!!!

IF you are "off the grid" and in a remote area, time to really stock up on what you cannot make for yourself and be ready to enforce a strict quarantine among yourselves.

Refrain from any physical contact with healthcare professionals and anyone that is employed at a facility caring for those with Ebola, as well as those that were involved in the patient transport, and the servicing of the aircraft and all equipment used.

As the illness spreads, more and more restrictions will occur, from preventing travel up to and including martial law, and rounding up of the population for "quarantine."

Actually this will be done to infect a larger population and condemn all to a horrible death, as well as to depopulate entire regions.

There are 340 Peace Corps volunteers returning from West Africa ASAP. The Peace Corps is pulling them out. These people have been lightly screened (monitored for fevers by in-country medical officers) and are expected to self-report any worsening health problems.I ask you - if you were a young Peace Corps volunteer in a place (aka pestilent hellhole)like Liberia or Sierra Leone and a day or two before you were going to get out you started to feel a little under the weather, would you tell someone? If you knew you'd have to be quarantined in-country in a place which is devolving into a medieval Black-death type scenario?(see latest article by Richard Preston in The New Yorker for details) I confess, I'd have a hard time with that decision. Essentially a death sentence by choice.When they get here, they'll be welcomed by many friends and relatives(as long as they are not actively ill) and after many hours on airplanes will decamp to their respective homes across this great land. Hopefully none of them will begin to feel poorly.

Thanks Enola! Very timely, and concise. This is where the rubber meets the road, folks. Don't you think you yourselves will have to take care of a loved one? Or a loved one will have to take care of you? All regrettable nonsense arguments aside, I do want to point out that colloidal silver kills many, many, many things without harming humans. I am very pleased that we have stocked up on it. It keeps for a long time in 'the bunker' and is extremely useful. We won't be without it now that we have seen what it will do personally! Don't forget, we also have the new Chikungunya (pronounced Chik-un-GUHN-ya) plague to deal with, and I assume we will all be personally acquainted with Dengue Fever soon enough. The plagues will come... read your Bible.

Enola, please permit to point out a good article here: West Africans Are Streaming Across the U.S. Southern Border Carrying the Ebola Virus (http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/2014/08/03/west-africans-are-streaming-across-the-u-s-southern-border-carrying-the-ebola-virus/). Dear friends, does this article make it more real to you now? May God protect us and our loved ones!

Ebola carrying west africans are "streaming" across the US southern border?! LOL!! I bet they are carrying little mexican kids wearing obama t-shirts with them too!! I bet they are headed to the bundy ranch to take his cows and all of our guns! THE HORROR...

From what I understand, there is a treatment for Ebola, but it's not always effective. A antibiotic cocktail and crossed fingers sort of thing. While Ebola is a disease rivalling any Biblical plague, it's not airborne( well,probably not), and not all that contagious. As with any quarantine, there can be no mistakes. I work for a hospital, and there are no exceptional measures being taken for an Ebola outbreak. Is it possible? Yes. Likely? I don't know. There are other nasties out there, like MRSA ( been there-two months to get over it, two months to get over the cure, and permanent scarring ), and a couple others like it. Still, it's good to be prepared for any disease, even if it's just recognizing what it is, and doing the basics.

hurry up and contact the dr zack that help me cure my Ebola virus disease. i was browsing the internet when i come across the email of this great herbalist on how he has been giving out his medicine for people that are sick of Ebola virus, so i also chose to contact her for my sickness, and he told me what i will provide for him to prepare the medicine and i did exactly what he ask me to do,and he also told me not to worry about anything that i will be fine, i was so surprise that how can a dr has such a medicine to cure the Ebola virus sickness. then after a couple of days that i took his medicine i notice a changes in my body, then after some days that he told me that i will be cure finally my own body was change i went to my family doctor to do another check up for my Ebola virus status,my family doctor was surprise to find out that the sickness was no longer there. i was so excited about this wonderful miracle, and now i am happy to inform you all that know me very well that i am free from Ebola sickness with the herbal medicine of this great herbalist and i want you all to contact him through his email: wiseindividualspell@gmail.com he is worthy to be thanks cause has done something marvelous for me. they really say what a pastor can do a great herbalist can do it better. so my people out there who are suffering from this Ebola virus or other sickness should please waste no time kindly contact this great herbalist on his email:wiseindividualspell@gmail.com or his contact number +2348078927387 i have tested him and he is genuine.

Thank you Jacob for a good laugh. It really looked like some of the scam emails I get sometimes. So sad to think that some people fall for this stuff. I hope your satire will alert people to the many health scams that they are bombared with.

It's amazing to me how many people are quick to jump on every "bandwagon" of epidemics and diseases that come down the pike. "Wolf" had been cried so many times it's pathetic. Yes, indeed there will be plague and pestilences...and to get much worse.

In speaking with my doctor the other day she said "do people realize how many young children have epilepsy?' It is epidemic in this country. And how many people have the pandemic of cancer. A very big money disease that, although there ARE proven cures, will never see the light of day.

America is a "crisis driven" nation. To reason for the "crisis" is to get the current political agenda passed through into laws that continue to destroy our Constitution.

Discernment is the watchword of this day. DISCERNMENT. And being careful that the vaccines, many that are mercury laden, cancer laden, don't cause worse than the disease.

"the vaccines, many that are mercury laden, cancer laden, don't cause worse than the disease."Could you really be that naive/misinformed?

"the pandemic of cancer. A very big money disease that, although there ARE proven cures, will never see the light of day."Cruel and dishonest. More craziness from those who believe in superstition based medicine.

May I suggest you look up Creosote, a proven cure for stomach cancer and readily growing wild in the deserts of California. Black Seed from the Nigella Sativa plant, proven cure for pancreatic cancer and the seeds found in King Tut's and Cleopatra's tombs. And any number of Chinese Herbalist concoctions. All of these have been around for many centuries and already been proven highly effective in curing many diseases. A no brainer for those who choose to be informed and learn about such things.

May I also suggest you look up the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) of any drug/all company that makes any vaccine. Simply go to, say, Merck, Smith Kline; Eli Lily; Pfizer....Why trust any vaccine maker when you can easily look these things up for yourself...and should look them up for your own safety.

Knowledge is worth more than gold and will become moreso in the future. It can never be taken away. If you choose to indulge in a bit of knowledge...bravo. Good for you. You have learned something very valuable and come out from under the "sheeple" mentality.

Oh please! Could you be that naive. Why is it you think that somehow you stumbled onto to something millions of doctors and scientists who spend their life dedicated to working with the ill and finding cures for illnesses never discovered. Do yourself a favor and avoid these superstitions. If you ever do get sick with something serious see a real doctor, and stop advising other people with your superstitions. How ironic for you to talk about lack of knowledge...

Genesis 1:29,30 --29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

Doctor? What Doctor we don't have one... And hospitals won't take you if you have no insurance. So I for one am happy to receive this information. Will it work ~shruggs~ I don't know but at least I have things to try if the Lord allows us to get sick with this. We have used lots of other natural cures. Thank you for addressing this!!!

The saga continues . . . Ebola is in Dallas (that's 1 hour from where I live) from a patient that was allowed to fly from a country known to have a pandemic currently occurring. Supposedly he answered a questionnaire and was allowed to board and fly to my part of the world because he wanted to visit family members. Of course, "officials" are monitoring the 80 or so people that have been in contact with this man since he left his country. I thought the ONLY sure method to reduce to risk of further outbreaks is a quarantine of all persons that have had contact. At least through an incubation period to see where it goes from there. I do not understand how those 80 can be allowed regular contact with the rest of the population, knowing there may be a risk of Ebola spreading. This does not seem logical. Enola, I would love to hear your thoughts?Best Regards, Diane in TX

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About Me

I am a christian, conservative, survival minded, homeschooling,off-grid, independent, home-birthing, Proverbs 31, Titus 2 minded 40 year old woman. I live with my husband and five children in our solar/generator powered shop on 30 acres. We are homestead types who try to do as much as we can ourselves, but understand the importance of community.